20091209

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's stock market rose phoenix-like from the ashes of hyperinflation in 2009, but is unlikely to ascend further next year due to a continued chronic lack of capital to rebuild the economy, fund managers say.

With the Industrial and Mining indexes re-zeroed to a nominal value of 100 in February after the scrapping of the worthless Zimbabwe dollar, it is hard to assess their performance against other African bourses over the year.

However, the Industrial index, Harare's main benchmark, is now at 148 points, nearly three times its level in March -- testament to the revival that has taken hold since the birth the previous month of the fractious but vaguely functional unity government of Robert Mugabe and arch-rival Morgan Tsvangirai.

After a 50 percent economic contraction during the previous decade, Tsvangirai's Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, was able this month to forecast growth of 4.7 percent for this year and 7 percent for next.

Barring a few politically fuelled wobbles, the INDZI has plateaued since May around 140-170, but looks hard-pushed to extend much beyond that until serious cash arrives to start patching up the rust-bucket economy.

Harare has been asking donors and investors for $10 billion, but little will land until everybody from the International Monetary Fund to global mining giants are confident Mugabe really is sharing power with his opponents.

Critics accuse the 85-year-old, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, of ruining a once prosperous economy through policies such as seizing white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks and threatening to nationalise mines and banks.

"There's no question that they can't turn back from the path they're on but it might still take a long time," said John Mackie, head of Africa funds at Stanlib in Johannesburg.